Philbin Vows To Create A Better Atmosphere

Dolphins Head Coach takes ownership of locker room situation.

INDIANAPOLIS – Standing tall and speaking with a firm voice, Miami Dolphins Head Coach Joe Philbin promised this morning to deliver the type of environment that will allow any member of the Dolphins to look back positively on his experience.

Philbin addressed a large gathering of national media on the first full day of the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine for the first time since the day after the final game of last season. He fielded questions for almost 15 minutes dealing with the results of the Ted Wells investigation into the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin scandal and took full responsibility for what happens on his watch, vowing to fix things going forward.

“When I read the report that you have, and I got the report the same minute that you got it, some of the facts, the behavior and the language that was outlined in the report is inappropriate and it’s unacceptable,” said Philbin, who is entering his third season at the helm. “I’m the one that’s in charge of the workplace, so I can tell you, I can tell our fans and I can tell our players that we’re going to do things about it. We’re going to make it better. We’re going to look at every avenue, we’re going to uncover every stone and we’re going to have a better workplace. I promise you that. I’m going to make sure that happens.”

It’s been less than a week since the Ted Wells report was released to the public and Philbin acknowledged that he and Dolphins owner Steve Ross needed to digest the entire 144 pages and conduct their own internal investigation. That’s why they waited before deciding to part ways to head athletic trainer Kevin O’Neill and offensive line coach Jim Turner yesterday and have begun to outline a plan to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.

One thing that became clear as Philbin spoke was just how disturbed he was by the attention this brought on the organization and how it impacted everyone involved, including the fans and people outside of the situation. He reiterated that he and Ross are “resolute in our dedication to getting this right and correcting any problems that exist,” emphasizing how he differently he would have handled things had he been aware of what was going on.

“I don’t have the benefit to look back,” Philbin said. “I would have hoped that I would have noticed some of these things. I can tell you I never turned my back. If I had heard this type of language or these types of acts being done, I would have intervened immediately. … I certainly wish I had seen some of it and I could have intervened quicker and perhaps it would not have grown to this proportion that it’s grown to. But it's easy to look back. That's how it unfolded. So now I have to focus on the future and correct the problems.

“I stated when we first became aware of some of these allegations that I have faith in our locker room and faith in the players that we have. I think he have an outstanding coaching staff. I know we have work to do like every other football team here and we’re here to work, we’re here to evaluate these prospects and improve our football team. I’m confident in the direction, I’m confident that we’re going to make the changes necessary to improve the workplace of the Miami Dolphins and improve our football team.”